View source for The Daily Utah Chronicle (September 1996)

== Smile for the Nice Music Critic Scum ==
by Shan Fowler

Alanis has left the building. Well, not exactly. But now that the excitement over everybody's favorite 11-million-record-selling hosebag has died down, music fans are starting to see both the upside and the downside of a wildly successful "alternative" female artist.

The downside is obvious: about a zillion other female performers are emulating Alanis Morrisette. The upside is the few sincere female musicians who don't try to imitate her. Enter Kristen Barry. Barry proved to a private audience at the Dead Goat on Thursday, Sept. 19, that she is her own person, not just a marketing strategy.

Barry is a native of Redmond, Wash., a suburb of Seattle. She wanted to become a classical pianist as a child, but became interesting in rock and roll when she was 12.

At the tender age of 17, she "escaped" from Redmond and made her way to downtown Seattle. She performed in a couple of bands there before pursuing a solo career.

One thing is certain about Barry: she is no Alanis. Alanis doesn't write her own songs, while Barry participates in every aspect of her music: from writing the lyrics, to writing the music, to recording the music. From start to finish, Barry's music is sincere because it's hers - something Alanis has yet to accomplish.

Despite being a better musician than Alanis, Barry still has her flaws.

In her four-song acoustic set at the Dead Goat, Barry put all she could into the music, and the appreciative "private" audience gave back.

The event was an unadvertised promotional set. Barry's "private" audience consisted of mostly schmoozing music critics (myself included), some of who came to see Barry play and some who came for the free beer, CDs, and appetizers. Through the beer and buffalo wings, Barry made sure the audience knew she was the main attraction.

Barry's emotional voice has the kick of Sinead O'Connor mixed with the rawness of Deborah Harry. Her guitar work floats between frenetic college rock chords and "alternative" balladeering. Her lyrics need some work, but most of the time they were solid.

Her songs were emotional, but the emotion gave way to smiles and laughs between songs. At one point she said "I'll play one more song, but then I have to come down [off the stage] and have a beer with the rest of you." This would be orchestrated ass-kissing from most performers, but Barry seemed sincere.

Barry's heartfelt lyrics aren't very coherent yet, but her musical talent should fill in where the lyrics cannot. Her sincerity is refreshing compared to the daughters of the '90s, who feel little old Alanis is the future of female rock.